We Are No Longer a Nation of Laws.  Senate Sets Up Requirement for Super-Majority to Ever Repeal Obamacare  —  If ever the people of the United States rise up and fight over passage of Obamacare, Harry Reid must be remembered as the man who sacrificed the dignity of his office for a few pieces of silver.

EXCLUSIVE: Ex-RNC chiefs rip Steele speaking fees  —  Party chairman charging $8,000 to $20,000  —  Michael S. Steele, Republican National Committee chairman, is using his title to market himself for paid appearances nationwide, personally profiting from speeches with fees of up to $20,000 at colleges …

Reid asks Senate to remain civil as chamber edges toward final vote  —  The Senate early Tuesday morning edged closer to approving a massive healthcare bill.  —  Senators approved a series of procedural votes Tuesday morning that brings them closer to a Christmas Eve vote on healthcare reform.

U.S. Voters Oppose Health Care Plan By Wide Margin, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Say 3-1, Plan Should Not Pay For Abortions  —  As the Senate prepares to vote on health care reform, American voters “mostly disapprove” of the plan 53 - 36 percent and disapprove 56 …

Exclusive: Rep. Parker Griffith switches to GOP  —  POLITICO has learned that Rep. Parker Griffith, a freshman Democrat from Alabama, will announce today that he's switching parties to become a Republican.  —  According to two senior GOP aides familiar with the decision …

The Protocol Society  —  In the 19th and 20th centuries we made stuff: corn and steel and trucks.  Now, we make protocols: sets of instructions.  A software program is a protocol for organizing information.  A new drug is a protocol for organizing chemicals.  Wal-Mart produces protocols for moving and marketing consumer goods.

Exclusive: ACORN Qualifies for Funding in Senate Health Care Bill  —  Senator Roland Burris is claiming credit for a provision in Harry Reid's “manager's amendment,” unveiled Saturday morning, that could funnel money to ACORN through the health care bill.  —  On December 9, Burris …

States' jobless funds are being drained in recession  —  The recession's jobless toll is draining unemployment-compensation funds so fast that according to federal projections, 40 state programs will go broke within two years and need $90 billion in loans to keep issuing the benefit checks.

Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani expected to announce Tuesday he will not run for U.S. Senate  —  So long, Rudy.  —  Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani is expected to announce Tuesday he is not running for U.S. Senate or anything else in 2010, effectively ending his storied - and often stormy - electoral career, The Daily News has learned.

Sorry, Vegans: Brussels Sprouts Like to Live, Too  —  I stopped eating pork about eight years ago, after a scientist happened to mention that the animal whose teeth most closely resemble our own is the pig.  Unable to shake the image of a perky little pig flashing me a brilliant George Clooney smile …

A Bill Well Worth Passing  —  The health care reform bill that Senate Democratic leaders have cobbled together to win support from all 60 members of their fractious caucus — the filibuster-proof majority needed to ensure passage — has drawn scornful attacks from a united Republican opposition.

Bernanke and California  —  Binyamin Appelbaum and David Cho have a nice story in the Washington Post today about the Fed's lackadaisical regulation of banks in the decade before the housing bust.  It's worth a read.  As a native Southern Californian, though, this passage jumped out at me:

Obama to Name Chief of Cybersecurity  —  Nearly seven months after highlighting the vulnerability of banking, energy and communications systems to Internet attacks, the White House on Tuesday is expected to name a technology industry veteran to coordinate competing efforts to improve …

Desert Vistas vs. Solar Power  —  AMBOY, Calif. — Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation in Congress on Monday to protect a million acres of the Mojave Desert in California by scuttling some 13 big solar plants and wind farms planned for the region.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas — Republican style  —  With Democratic Sen. Roland Burris performing his version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas on the Senate floor this morning, we thought it only fair in this season of goodwill toward men to include a version for our Republican friends.

Apple TV-Service Proposal Gets Some Nibbles  —  CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co. are considering participating in Apple Inc.'s plan to offer television subscriptions over the Internet, according to people familiar with the matter, as Apple prepares a potential new competitor to cable and satellite TV.

Lobbyists on pace for record year  —  Main Street has had a tough year, losing jobs and seeing little evidence of the economic revival that experts say has already begun.  —  But K Street is raking it in.  —  Washington's influence industry is on track to shatter last year's record $3.3 billion spent …

Trial tarnishes Whitman's CEO glow  —  Meg Whitman's successful leadership as CEO of eBay is the central pitch in her bid to become California's Republican nominee for governor, but a legal spat between her former company and Craigslist, the groundbreaking online classified-ad company …